God’s Glory Reconciles: Fueled by God
READY:
The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”
(1 Kings 19:7)
SET:
The story of Elijah is very relatable for a runner. Imagine Elijah, like a long-distance runner (say an ultra marathoner) running without support.
His reserves could only sustain him up to some point.
Elijah was fleeing for his life rather than taking a trip like Abraham.
When he hit the wilderness, he was down and out.
Finished.
Is this how is race was going to end?
It would have been such anti-climax for a man who God had used to show Himself as the true God and put to shame the idol gods of the land at Mount Carmel.
Elijah fresh from winning a God supremacy contest, was now fleeing from the people whose gods he had challenged and won.
A few days ago, I organized a run to celebrate my 50th birthday.
It was a 50km run for 50 years.
Unlike the case of Elijah, this was planned, prayed for and prepared for.
Yet like Elijah, I ran without support.
Not because I didn’t have one but because my chase car lost it’s way on the course and kept meandering looking for me until the finish line.
At 30km mark, I had exhausted my energy reserves, and I needed water.
I had no money and no phone with me.
All these items had been left in the chase car.
So I found myself like Elijah looking for my broom bush to find shelter.
I didn’t pray that I might die, instead I begged for drinking water from the villagers nearby.
As I was going from house to house begging for water, I remembered all the provisions I had in my car that had been bought the previous day.
Packs of drinking water, enough bananas, sandwiches, energy drinks etc.
Yet here I was simply seeking a cup of water to sustain me until the next town where hopefully my chase car would have caught up with me.
I ran the entire 50km without support.
I relied on begging for water from nearby shops and restaurants and the hosts were gracious enough to give me that vital hydration.
I finished the run in one piece, without any incident but with lots of reflections.
What was God teaching me?
It profoundly became clear to me that my struggles without support are like how we try to live our lives on our own.
While we may have the muscle to carry us to a point, we soon wilt as energy levels drop.
We are caught with the burning need for hydration and fuel.
Like Elijah, we hit the low moments where we feel like quitting yet while even on those moments we act on our whims to do our own things, God still has His eye on us.
Elijah thought God had abandoned him.
I on the other hand wondered why my support had abandoned me.
I was hopeful they would show up along the way.
Elijah had lost all hope.
Yet just like God demonstrated His glory through angelic visitation for fuelling and hydration.
For my source of support wasn’t going to be my chase car but these strangers who were kind enough to give me something to drink.
God had not abandoned me, He just chose to use different ways to remind me that He was with me.
GO:
- Are you running away from something that God wants you to face?
- Are you depending on your own strength and ability to get as far away?
- Will you trust in the Lord today to fuel you and reroute you to the destination He has for you?
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